Junior School Newsletter Friday 22 May 2020
DEAR PARENTS And so a strange half term comes to an end with everyone, I think, ready for a short break. Over the past five weeks the staff and I have been amazed by the way that the children have adapted to a very different way of learning. The rate of improvement in their technological skills has been astounding and the resilience shown in coping in such an unsettling situation has been remarkable. However we are mindful of how much they are missing what Microsoft Teams, Firefly videos and live chats cannot provide; friends nearby to play alongside with. We are social beings, none more so than children, and much of what makes learning at Sibford successful is the interaction and teamwork. We are exploring ways in which we can manage more of this remotely and hope, after the break, to incorporate more live lessons for some of the younger year groups as well as providing social opportunities for the children to be together. The official newsletter of
El Dorado High School teachers
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you, as parents for the sterling work you have been doing in guiding your children and helping to deliver the learning. We are very conscious that it is a difficult enough situation to manage children who are dealing with lockdown especially with your own work commitments, but when we throw spelling tests, science experiments and art activities into this mix we know that this presents challenges. It is certainly a testament to their enthusiasm, adaptability and curiosity and your endeavour and guidance that the standard of much that has been submitted has been so high. In Meeting for Worship on Monday, I shared with the children some thoughts on what we might think about when all of this is over, about how one day they will look back on this as a defining moment in history. Most of all though, I shared with them that in turmoil and challenge there are often shining stars of hope that can raise our spirits, whether that be the mountains and monuments now visible where once they were obscured by pollution, or people living in cities across the continent who have thrown open their windows when singing in the evening so that the lonely are included in the songs, or that young children have recognised the difficulties being faced by others and sought to support through letters, cards, posters, charity events and even lovely emails to their teachers! Certainly, in amongst the anxiety and fear, we have seen the very best of humanity.